Then King Solomon sent the order by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him so that he died.
Parallel translations
- WEB King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell on him, so that he died.
- KJV And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died.
- BSB So King Solomon sent the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who struck down Adonijah, and he died.
- NKJV So King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down, and he died.
- NLT So King Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada to execute him, and Adonijah was put to death.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Solomon sends Benaiah to execute Adonijah, and the sentence is carried out. The chief rival to the throne is removed and the kingdom secured.
Overview
Benaiah, Solomon's trusted enforcer, carries out the king's judgment on Adonijah. The execution, though severe to modern ears, follows ancient royal practice for treason and fulfills Solomon's sworn word. With the pretender gone, the throne God established is no longer contested from within David's own house.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Sam 8:18Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, David’s sons were chief ministers.
- 1 Sam 15:33Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women!” Then Samuel cut Agag in pieces before Yahweh in Gilgal.
- Judg 8:20–21He said to Jether his firstborn, “Get up, and kill them!” But the youth didn’t draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was yet a youth.
- 2 Sam 1:15David called one of the young men, and said, “Go near, and cut him down!” He struck him so that he died.
- 1 Kgs 2:31The king said to him, “Do as he has said, and fall on him, and bury him; that you may take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and from my father’s house.
- 2 Sam 4:12David commanded his young men, and they killed them, cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up beside the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried it in Abner’s grave in Hebron.
- 1 Kgs 2:46So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out, and fell on him, so that he died. The kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
- 1 Kgs 2:34Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell on him, and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 2:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.